Just made a CTS library run

It has been a long time since I’ve done one of those. I picked up several recent things and a few less recent. Sean Lucas’ book on Dabney looks like it will be every bit as good as the other title in the series. And I have several others I’ll review eventually. But I just wanted to mention that the CTS library recently acquired the Banner of Truth “Puritan Paperback,” The Shorter Catechism Explained from Scripture by Thomas Vincent. I looked through it and it contains some real gold. I was going to sit here and type some quotations, but the Shorter Catechism Project has already done the work for me. Each catechism question comes with a link to, among others, a commentary, in the form of more questions and and answers, from Vincents book.

So for example, when the catechism asks and answers,

Q:What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
A: The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.

a link is provided to Vincent’s commentary:

XLIV. Ques. What doth tho preface to the ten commandments teach us?
Ans.
The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, that because God is the Lord, and our God and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.

Q. 1. How many reasons or arguments are there in the preface, to oblige and persuade us to keep all God’s commandments?
A. There are in the preface three reasons or arguments to oblige and persuade us to keep all God’s commandments. 1. Because God is the Lord: “I am the Lord.” 2. Because God is our God: “I am the Lord thy God.” 3. Because God is our Redeemer: “Which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Q. 2. How can God be said to bring his people out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage now?
A. As God brought his people of old out of the earthly’ Egypt, and the bondage of men; so he doth now bring his people out of the spiritual Egypt, and the bondage they are in unto the devil and their own lusts.

Q. 3. How are we bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is the Lord?
A. We are bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is the Lord, because, as he is the Lord, lie is our Creator and supreme Sovereign, and we owe to him all obedience, as we are his creatures and subjects. “Serve the Lord with gladness. Know that he made us, and not we ourselves.”— Ps. 100:2, 3. “Who would not fear thee, O King of nations I for to thee doth it appertain.” – Jer. 10:7.

Q. 4. How are we bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is our God?
A. We are bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is our God, because, as our God, lie hath taken us into covenant, and brought us into a special relation to himself; and hereby laid a greater obligation upon us to do him service. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments alway.”— Deut. 11:1.

Q. 5. How are we bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is our Redeemer?
A. We are bound and obliged to keep God’s commandments as he is our Redeemer, because God hath redeemed us for this end, that, being free from the slavery of sin and Satan, we might be encouraged and enabled to yield obedience unto him. “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”— 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. “That we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.”— Luke 1:74, 75.

Like I said. Pure gold.

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